Freshman Research Initiative (FRI)

Our Faculty

Research Educators (REs) & Principal Investigators (PIs)

Principal Investigators and Research Educators are Ph.D. level researchers that help develop research streams and serve as FRI stream leaders and/or FRI program coordinators.*
 

Stream Primary Research Discipline** Research Educator (RE) Principal Investigator (PI)
Aptamer Biochemistry

Gwen Stovall*

K-12 Pipeline Initiative

Andy Ellington
Autonomous Robots Computer Science Justin Hart Peter Stone
Behavioral Neuroscience Biology Thilini Wijesekera Nigel Atkinson
Big Data in Biology Computational Biology Dhivya Arasappan

Hans Hoffman

Vishy Iyer

Bioactive Molecules Chemistry

Elizabeth Ilardi*

Associate Director & Communications

Stephen F. Martin
Biobricks Biochemistry

Soo Hyun Yang*

Stream Sort

Karen Browning
Biodiversity Discovery Biology Tom Devitt

David Cannatella

David Hillis

Biomanufacturing Biochemistry Katie Hansen

Andy Ellington

Bryan Davies

Bioprospecting Biochemistry

Kasia Dinkeloo*

Operations & Safety

Andy Ellington

Jennifer Brodbelt

Bugs in Bugs Biology Jo-anne Holley Nancy Moran
Computational Materials Multidisciplinary Wenrui (Ray) Chai Graeme Henkelman Gyeong Hwang
Discovering Signals Biology

Greg Clark*

K-12 Outreach

Stan Roux
DIY Diagnostics Multidisciplinary

Tim Riedel*

UT Inventors Director & Corporate & Industry Relations

Andy Ellington
EvoDevOmics Computational Biology Joe Dubie Becca Young
Fish Behavior Biology

Mary Ramsey*

HSRA Co-Director

Molly Cummings
Gene Networks Biochemistry

Al MacKrell*

Peer Mentors

Scott Stevens
Geometry of Space Multidisciplinary Shyamal Mitra Karl Gebhardt
Glow Worms Biology Naomi Stolpner Daniel Dickinson
IGEM Multidisciplinary Dennis Mishler Jeff Barrick
Magnetic Matter Physics Armin Anwar John Markert
Materials in Color Chemistry

Tony Dylla*

HSRA Co-Director

Zach Page
Microbe Hackers Biochemistry Dennis Mishler Jeff Barrick
Plant Pathways Biology

Tony Gonzalez*

Advanced Research & Fellowships

Enamul Huq
Practical Sensors Chemistry

Pedro Metola*

Admissions & Recruitment

Eric Anslyn

Andy Ellington 

Quantum Computing Computer Science Brian La Cour  Brian La Cour
Supra Sensors Chemistry

Diana Zamora-Olivares*

UT Wine Initiative

Eric Anslyn
Urban Ecosystems Multidisciplinary

Stuart Reichler, Mary Poteet, Ruth Shear*

Assessment & Accreditation

Advisory Board
Virtual Cures Biochemistry

Josh Beckham*

Peer Observations

TBD
White Dwarf Stars Astronomy Mike Montgomery Don Winget
X-Plants Biology Aleah Henderson-Carter Tom Juenger

** Many of our streams are multidisciplinary, but offer course credit related to a primary research discipline.

Former FRI Principal Investigators


  • Dean Appling
  • Zack Booth Simpson
  • Matt Cowperthwaite
  • Richard Crooks
  • Walter Fast 
  • Ronny Hadani
  • Kristen Harris
  • Christine Hawkes
  • Robert Jansen
  • Richard Jones
  • Alan Lloyd
  • Jeff Luci
  • Pradeep Ravikumar
  • Jon Robertus
  • Nearl Rutledge
  • Paul Shapiro
  • Dionicio Siegel
  • Keith Stevenson
  • Robert van De Geijn
  • David Vanden Bout
  • Marvin Whiteley
  • Claus Wilke

Interested in starting a stream?


Launch a Stream